Who are young carers?

A young carer is a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person.

As many as one in 12 pupils in the UK could be a young carer.

Often, these children are caring for relatives without their teachers’ knowledge, slipping through the net, undetected by support services. The caring role they carry out means they have unique experiences and demand that impact on their capacity to enjoy and achieve at school.

What are the potential impacts of caring on pupil attainment, achievement and wellbeing?

Young carers are a vulnerable and disadvantaged group specifically mentioned in Ofsted’s School Inspection Handbook' (Ofsted, 2014)

Can there be many young carers in my school?

The 2011 Census identified over 177,000 young carers in England and Wales, although this is believed to be an underestimate.

In 2010 the BBC did a national school survey that suggested there could be 700,000 young carers in the UK.

We would say that this equates to 1 in 12 pupils in every classroom that have caring responsibilities.

What we know about Young Carers in Oxfordshire

The Family Solutions Service service is supporting over 700+ young carers; based on the national census we estimate there are many more young carers in Oxfordshire.

Of 451 young carers in Years 2 to 10, 278 (39.5%) had attendance below 85% for one or more terms of 2012.

Young Carers tell us they are bullied due to their caring role; with many saying the school did not know they were a young carer.

Why should your school sign up and achieve a Young Carer School Standard?

Improve understanding of the issues, identify young carers, and support available and legal frameworks.

Improve Attendance and Attainment for young carers.

To improve better outcomes for young carers emotional and physical wellbeing.

To narrow the attainment gap for these children – many of whom will also be FSM or SEN.

Demonstrate (to Ofsted and others) how your school supports its vulnerable pupils through multi-agency working, pupil involvement and a whole-school approach.

Young Carers in Schools Programme - The Carers Trust and the Children's Society.

Many schools are signed up to the Carers Trust and the Children' Society's Young Carers in Schools Programme.

'A young carer becomes vulnerable when their caring role risks impacting upon their emotional or physical wellbeing and their prospects in education and life.' (Department of Health 2014)